Everything Else
by kendrickyoulittleshit
Summary: Beca annoys, then astounds Aubrey by playing the piano. Slight hint of Bechloe.


**AN: This was written at 3 in the morning, is unbeta'd, and I'm not really sure what exactly it is. Anyway, the song used is Everything Else, from the musical Next To Normal. Hope you like it!**

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"Okay, Bellas, five minute water break," Aubrey panted, reaching down to stretch her hamstrings. The rest of the girls trudged towards the bleachers, dragging their feet after the intense cardio routine she'd put them through and desperately gulping down water. It would all be worth it at the ICCAs, she thought, taking a sip from her own water bottle. She looked up as she stretched, catching Chloe knocking Beca's shoulder with her own at the piano bench. Aubrey barely repressed rolling her eyes at Chloe's obvious toner, scoffing at the brunette's own eye roll. She just didn't understand what Chloe saw in the petulant freshman, the dark eyeliner and heavy sarcasm a complete 180 from the redhead's cheerful nature.

Going back to her stretching, Aubrey breathed out a ten count, enjoying the relative quiet of the rehearsal space as everyone sipped and stretched. The quiet was short lived, however, when, at the piano, Beca began to play. Aubrey's head snapped up as the small girl, further dwarfed by the size of the instrument, began tapping out Chopsticks, causing Chloe to throw her head back and laugh, poking Beca in the side and making her squirm away. The other Bellas looked up and watched as Beca played with a slightly bored expression on her face, breaking into a reluctant smile when Chloe leaned in and hummed in her ear. Aubrey sighed deeply as Chopsticks clumsily morphed into Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which in turn came back around to the beginning of Oh When the Saints. This went on for at least another minute before Aubrey had enough.

"Beca," Aubrey finally snapped from the floor, causing everyone to look over at her. "If you're going to play, could you play a real song please?"

The room collectively sucked in its breath as Chloe scooted off the bench and headed towards Aubrey, an aggravated expression on her face. Beca, however, merely raised an eyebrow and lifted her hands to the keys, a cascade of notes pouring out effortlessly. Chloe's jaw dropped as she stopped, looking back at the brunette as ring clad fingers danced lightly across the piano, creating a complicated melody. Beca smirked over at Aubrey, whose eyebrows were raised in surprise, and began to sing.

"Mozart was crazy," she sang, clear voice ringing out over the delicate tune. Her mouth twisted into a sardonic grin as she continued. "Flat fucking crazy. Batshit, I hear."

The other Bellas watched as she played, torn between awe and amusement. Stacie snorted a laugh at the look on their captain's face, and Amy let out a quiet cheer.

"But his music's not crazy, it's balanced, it's nimble, it's crystalline clear," Beca focused on the song, playing a complicated succession of notes that had Aubrey's head spinning and Chloe's heart pounding. "There's harmony, logic, you listen to these. You don't hear his doubts or his debts or disease. You scan through the score and put fingers on keys and you play. And everything else goes away. Everything else goes away."

Aubrey quietly stood and walked over, standing over her and watching as her hands flew across the keys.

"And you play 'til it's perfect, you play 'til you ache, you play 'til the strings or your fingernails break. So you'll rock that recital, and get into Yale, so you won't feel so sick, and you won't look so pale," Beca's tone grew serious, bitter even, as the song built. The other girls exchanged glances as the emotion became clear in her voice, none of them quite sure how to react. Chloe reached a hand out, but pulled it back, letting her continue.

"Cause you've got your full ride, and you're early admit, so you're done with this school, and all of this shit. And you graduate early, you're gone as of May, and there's nothing your paranoid parents can say," she spat out the words, softening them as she reached the end of the verse.

The Bellas watched in silence as she paused, then continued softly.

"And you know that it's just a sonata away," she played delicately. "And you play. And you play. And everything else goes away, everything else goes away. Everything else goes away."

She trailed off, ending the song softly. There was a brief moment where no one moved, no one spoke, not wanting to break the moment as the brunette sighed and held her head down. Just as Chloe began to reach her hand out again, Beca looked up and grinned at Aubrey, that same shit eating grin that usually preceded something that would give the blonde a headache for at least an hour.

"So how was that, El Capitan?"

The Bellas burst into mixed laughter and applause, teasing Beca good-naturedly. Chloe whacked her in the shoulder with a wide smile, gently berating her for not disclosing her piano playing skills. Aubrey merely rolled her eyes and clapped her hands together, calling for attention.

"That was very nice Beca," she said begrudgingly.

"Oh whoa, don't hurt yourself there," Beca said with that same grin. Chloe poked her in the shoulder and gave her a look. "What?"

"Be nice," Chloe hissed.

"Okay, let's get back to rehearsal," Aubrey said, ignoring the groans and fallen faces of her team. "We have to be prepared for SBT, and let's try to actually do the choreography this time, ladies."

Aubrey stood back as they lined up, watching out of the corner of her eye as Chloe said something quietly to Beca, causing the smaller girl to flush with pride and give a shy smile. They got in formation and Aubrey quickly snapped into gear, ignoring the thought that maybe, just maybe, there was more to Beca Mitchell than she'd thought.


End file.
